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It is needless to say that the Giants have a lot to be thankful for this weekend as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Furthermore, here are five things that the Giants, and frankly Giants fans, should be thankful for.

5. The 7-3 Record

Six weeks into the season, the Giants had an unimpressive 2-3 record. Many started to question the promotion of coach Ben McAdoo and whether general manager Jerry Reese wasted $200 million dollars on a defense that hadn’t been able to get to the quarterback.

Here we are about a month later, and the Giants have won five straight games, boosting their record to 7-3, tied for the fifth-best record in the entire NFL.

Ben McAdoo has made some incredible strides from the beginning of the season, while Jerry Reese’s signings have started to look like bargains.

The Giants have a tough six games remaining, but with a 7-3 record, returning to the playoffs for the first time in five years is on everyone’s minds.

4. Eli Manning

Even if Eli Manning had the worst stats among all NFL quarterbacks right now, he’d still be on this list. After all, he led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories (and two super bowl MVPs of his own).

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However, this is not the case, as Manning is having another solid season. He currently ranks 13th in yards per game, 12th in touchdown passes and seventh in completions. Currently on pace to record 4,333 yards and 27 touchdowns, Manning has given the Giants reason to be thankful.

We all know how Manning’s history in the playoffs. With the Giants currently sitting as the fifth seed in the playoff picture, Manning better teach the young players how to perform under pressure.

3. Odell Beckham Jr.

Speaking of young players, it is safe to say Odell Beckham Jr. will be discussed at the Mara Thanksgiving dinner.

Three years into his young career and Beckham Jr. has easily earned the status of a top-five receiver. He just set another record being the fastest player to reach 35 touchdowns in NFL history (36 games). This is just one of the many records Beckham Jr. has broken over the past two and a half years.

Even with the talents that are Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz, Beckham Jr. is on track to accumulate 1,310 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 94 receptions.

Beckham Jr. made it clear during his Monday Night Football postgame interview that he is desperate to make a playoff appearance for the first time of his career.

With Beckham Jr. off to an average start to the season, at least for his standards, the Giants offense will only improve as they near the finish-line.

2. The Defense

If there is one thing that the Giants should be most thankful for, it is the defense.

After an embarrassing 2015 campaign that included a historically bad defensive performance, the Giants defense has vastly improved.

General manager Jerry Reese went out and paid Jason Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins a combined total of $203.75 million. Needless to say, there was a ton of skepticism surrounding the Giants and their wealthy defense heading into the season. For those that doubted the Giants defense, that skepticism has quickly turned into astonishment.

Janoris Jenkins is simply playing like a top five cornerback. It would be quite fair to make an argument for Jenkins being the best cornerback in the league. He started out the season giving up just eight yards on one reception to wide receiver Dez Bryant. Jenkins, or as he prefers to be called, “Jackrabbit,” has lived up to the high expectations that were placed on him after that elite season-opening performance.

Meanwhile on the front of the defense, Pierre-Paul, Vernon and Harrison have connected to build one of the better defensive lines in the NFL. This unit played far below expectations up until Week 6 when they completely turned everything around. Pierre-Paul and Vernon each have four sacks, while Harrison, better known as “Snacks,” has developed excellent chemistry with the other defensive tackle, Johnathan Hankins, to become one of the best run stuffing defensive lines in the NFL.

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Don’t think for a second that we forgot about the second-year stud in the backfield. Landon Collins is having one of the best seasons among all defensive players. He currently has the fifth-best odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, according to SportsInsights. Up until last week, Collins was the only player in the NFL to lead his team in tackles, sacks and interceptions (Vernon and Pierre-Paul have one more sack than Collins does). Being on pace to total 128 tackles, 5 sacks and 10 interceptions, Collins is becoming a name associated with the title of best safety in the NFL.

The linebackers and rest of the secondary have also played very well. Without this defense, the Giants would likely be on the other side of the spectrum with a 3-7 record.

1. Giants Fans

Finally, the Giants should be gracious towards their fans! In recent years, the Giants were never thought to have a home-field environment like that of the Seattle Seahawks or Kansas City Chiefs. Nevertheless, MetLife Stadium is blasting on game-days, giving the Giants an extraordinary advantage over opposing teams.